I was wondering....
...and I am not being funny or mocking...
But how is this child perceived now? I mean, is this the ‘ultimate blessing’ apart from being touched by the hand of God Himself?
Would people consider this child ‘special’ now and want to touch him? Really, I am not being sarcastic.
No.
And no offense taken.
Wasn't thinking sarcasm. Was thinking dolt or clod or just plain axx.
No, Catholics would not look upon this boy as now having had any special attributes resulting from the encounter with the pope. That would not fit into our belief system.
Why the story of this embrace is significant, I think, is that it highlights our new pope’s gracious way of reaching out to people on a very real human level.
Some people might, but it would be solely a personality trait of theirs and not have anything to do with being a Catholic or Catholic teaching, as seems to be implied by your post.
Although Pope Francis may not have known this at the time, his selection of this particular child was no accident: The child's father is a a popular and revered professor of theology at Providence College, which is the only college in the United States that is run by the Dominican Order and indeed, a significant number of the administration and faculty at Providence College are Dominican Friars and Sisters. Several members of every graduating class are called to God and accept the vocation and become Dominican priests. And it is no coincidence that the young boy who Pope Francis blessed in named “Dominic.” Perhaps a few students at Providence College will find life-changing inspiration from this particular experience to dedicate their lives to sharing their faith and spreading the word of God.